Spanish Children’s Literature

Presented by Christi Wright Elkins and Candis Grover, November

2009

What does reading mean to you?

• Los libros son mi aliento, mi vida, y mi futuro.

-- Dostoievski

Expectations

• Take a sticky note and write down an expectation that you have for our time in this class.

Favorite Read Aloud

• Think of a favorite book that you use as a read-aloud.

• Tell us how you use it in your class. (To teach print conventions, fiction/non-fiction, comprehension, story elements, etc.)

4 Key Capacities

Our Role As Teachers

• Oír/Listening• Expresión/Expression• Escrita/Written• Comprensión/Comprehension• We have the obligation as

teachers to teach our students to read and write.

Planting The Seed

• We can teach our students to love reading.

• They arrive at school like fresh soil

• The soil gets water -- from society, the family, experiences . . . Something is happening!

Planting The Seed

• With listening and speaking in the home, with the “water” we give them, the seed we plant starts to grow.

• Then we teach them to read and write.• HOW DO WE DO THAT?

• With theatrical readings• With poetry

• We are teaching them to be a person who has strategies, to be dynamic, and to feel free to be creative.• They start to show us their individuality

and their personality developing.

Turn and Talk

• Talk with someone nearby about your experiences with reading as a young person.

• Positive? Negative?• What is your current “relationship” with

reading?• How do these things affect the way you teach

reading with your students?

Motivation to Read

• Generosity: If we want our students to use this capacity, we have to SHOW them generosity!

• Divergent Thinking: A classroom based on this way of thinking will result in creativity and individuality among the students.

Motivation to Read

• There is no divergence without motivation.

• What is motivation?• Motivation is giving students what

calls their attention, having fun with learning so that they enjoy it.

What motivates kids?

• Doing something meaningful• Wanting to feel proud of their work• Feeling secure, approved• Need for good self-esteem• Self-confidence, self-control• Being accepted for who they are• Feeling competent

¿Qué pasaría si . . . ?

• Strategy: The fantastic binomial of Gianni Rodari• Two words• A phrase• Chain narrative• A title• Teachable moment

Example

• Binomial: Canadá -- cometa• Phrase: A lost kite in Canada

Cuento

Un papalote curioso quería conocer la navidad. Sapía que existía un lugar muy lejano donde la navidad no sólo se celebraba una vez al año, sino que todos los días era navidad. Este lugar se encontrabab en Canadá. Era una tierra lejana y fría de una belleza inigualable. Asi es que la cometaa decidió dar marcha a este lugar. Voló, voló, y voló. Hasta tal punto subió hacia el Norte, que no veía ya ciudades de ni casas ni personas. Bajo sus ojos sólo había un inmenso bosque cubierto de nieve. De pronto, sintió que el frió se hacía insoportable y que le suponía mucho esfuerzo volar. A la pobre cometa se le había congelado la cola. Pensó que ya era desmasiado tarde y comenzó a caer desde el cielo.

Justo antes de desmayarse, logró recordar que todo lo que quería era ver la navidad. Su caída era la desilusión, aunque vino a posarse en el mismo centro de la ciudad de la Eterna Navidad. Mientras dormía la llevaron a la casa de San Nicolás y el alcalde de la ciudad organizó una gran fiesta para darle la bienvenida al lugar más bello del mundo.

What’s The Point?

• Motivating our students to read will be MUCH easier if we help them to develop their imaginations!

• Imagination . . . Visualization . . . Greater Comprehension!

Want to try it?

• What would happen if _____________

_____________?• Remember: Two words, a phrase,

and a short narrative.• Find the teachable moment.

Book Lists

• Where to find them:• Book Lists Online

Dia de los Niños Book List

Themed Book Lists - Latino and Spanish Language FavoritesNPR Kids' Books With Lessons for Life

Teaching Parents

• 80% of a child’s success in school depends on parent involvement in their educational experience.

• How do we train parents so they can teach their children at home?

Parent Education Resources - Literacy

• Colorin Colorado Videos for Parents -- Spanish

• Actividades Para Divertirse Leyendo• Reading Tips For Parents -- Bilingual• Como ayudar a su hijo a ser buen lector• Donde Viven Los Monstruos Reading Guide

Parent Education Resources - Literacy

• Spanish Children’s Literature Resource Page• Includes The Following:

• Teacher Toolkit for Parent Workshops• Ideas for getting parents of ELL’s involved• Literacy activity books for parents/students - K,

1, & 2• Leaps and Bounds Book List (Excel)• Launching Young Readers Family Guide

Online Literature

• 350 Fábulas de Esopo• 100 Cuentos de Grimm• Refranes Interpretados• El Tiempo Periódico En Línea

Closing/Reflection

• Application: • Using one of the resources shared here,

choose a text which you have not used before, use it in a lesson, and write a brief summary to share with class members. Email Christi a copy.

• For SuperTeachers! (not required for PFK):• Post your lesson in the Discussion board on the

ShapingTheFuture wiki. (You will need to “join” the Wiki to get editing rights for the site!)